Google debuts real-time search

Posted December 8, 2009 - 03:08
by
Aharon Etengoff

Google has updated its popular search engine with a real time search option. The new feature reportedly helps users "bring search results to life" with a dynamic stream of real-time content gathered from across the web.

"Immediately after conducting a search, you can see live updates from people on popular sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as headlines from news and blog posts published just seconds before," explained Google spokesperson Amit Singhal. ??

"When they are relevant, we'll rank these latest results to show the freshest information right on the search results page. Try searching for your favorite TV show, sporting event or the latest development on a recent government bill. Whether it's an eyewitness tweet, a breaking news story or a fresh blog post, you can find it on Google right after it's published on the web."

According to Singhal, Google's real-time features are based on more than a dozen new search technologies.

"The [technology] enables us to monitor more than a billion documents and process hundreds of millions of real-time changes each day. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our new partners that we're announcing today: Facebook, MySpace, FriendFeed, Jaiku and Identi.ca — along with Twitter, which we announced a few weeks ago," he added.

Google's real-time search option will be officially unveiled in just a few days. However, the feature can be accessed now by visiting Google Trends and clicking on a "hot topic."